


A mother knows

by agentcalliope



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fitz's mom is smart, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, She knows, Short & Sweet, Sweet, Tearjerker, Tears, Tumblr Prompt, Unexpected Visitors, and she is so happy, in a good way, she's been waiting for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6850942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentcalliope/pseuds/agentcalliope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meredith Fitz receives unexpected visitors, but the news they bring isn't unexpected at all</p><p>(or Fitz's mom learns about Fitz and Jemma)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A mother knows

* * *

 

“Mum?”

 

Meredith pauses, her hands still clutching the plate under the running water as her heartbeat quickens at the sound of the voice.

 _His_ voice.

 

(she knows it better than her own)

 

She doesn’t even wait to turn off the sink or dry her hands before she races towards the front of her home, desperate to see her boy after so many years.

 

When she finally reaches him, when she sees him stepping into the hallway, Meredith can barely breathe- he’s so tall now, stubble lining his cheeks and his build thicker than she could’ve ever imagined her boy to have, and Meredith has to correct herself-

He’s not a boy anymore, but a man.

 

Leo’s grin grows as she crosses the distance between them, and when she grabs him and melts into his embrace, she hugs him tight and wants to never to let him go.

 

(but she does, because all mothers have to eventually let their children go)

 

Meredith pulls back and grips his arms, taking him in in disbelief. She’s slightly embarrassed as her eyes swell with tears and she sniffles.

 

Leo just throws his head back, and he laughs.

“Mum! Don’t cry!”

 

She releases his arms to wipe her eyes and she denies although the truth clearly flows down her cheeks.

“I’m not crying.”

 

He laughs again and pulls her into another hug, and she wraps her arms around his neck and squeezes her eyes tightly.

 

She opens them to find Jemma standing in the doorway, smiling at her and Meredith can’t believe how lucky she is today.

 

“Jemma!” She pushes her son away to tug this girl- a daughter- into her arms and rocks her back and forth, sniffling as the tears return.

 

Jemma holds her firmly back, and they both laugh when Leo scoffs and mutters about how his mother had practically thrown him aside for Jemma.

 

(Meredith would never replace him with Jemma, but there’s no doubt that this girl shares her heart as her son does)

 

She has to correct herself again; because when she lets go and looks at Jemma she sees that she’s not the little girl that she had first met ten years ago, on a visit to Leo’s school.

 

She’s a woman, and she’s grown up the same way her son has grown up and he’s a man and not a boy and Meredith wonders how time can be so kind but cruel all at once.

 

“I’ve missed you too so much,” she exclaims and holds their hands in hers, “I am so incredibly happy you came to visit.”

Leo gives a crooked smile and Jemma sweetly nods and Meredith pretends to ignore the hardness in their eyes that weren’t there the last time she saw them all those years ago.

 

(because Leo is a man now and Jemma is a woman now and there’s plenty of reasons why they had to grow up)

 

“Where are my manners?” she pulls them in and leads the way through her cluttered home, “Come in come in- oh! I forgot to turn off the water!”

Meredith leaves them in the hallway, the door still wide open in the back as she runs back to the kitchen to turn off the tap water.

 

And when Meredith comes to see them again, she can’t believe her eyes.

 

Leo’s holding Jemma’s hand, which is nothing new but the gaze they’re sharing is _certainly_ something new, and it doesn’t take Meredith long to realize what it means.

 

(it never took her long to realize when she first saw them together all those years ago, anyway)

 

At the sound of her clearing her throat, Leo and Jemma turn to look at her, and instead of becoming embarrassed or jumping apart they just smile, and Meredith resists the urge to clutch her heart.

“Mum, Jemma and I-”

 

She interrupts him by rushing forward and this time pulling them both into an embrace, throwing her arms around them.

 

“I am so happy for you two,” she whispers, and plants a kiss on both their cheeks, “I am so unbelievably undeniably delighted.”

 

(she doesn’t tell them that she really thinks it took them too long, because she figures they already know that.

A couple of geniuses, her Leo and her Jemma are. A couple of geniuses.)


End file.
